UW senior and Chinese exchange student Wei Guo has qualified to play cello
at the Music Teachers National Association’s Young Artist Competition in Anaheim, Calif. This is Wei’s last year of eligibility for the competition, and she has
been playing the instrument for 18 years.
The cello is more than just an instrument to UW senior Wei Guo; it is a life’s passion. So it came as no surprise when she qualified to compete in the prestigious Young Artist Competition in Anaheim, Calif., sponsored by the Music Teachers National Association.
It is a rare honor to make it to the MTNA competition, with powerhouses like Juilliard normally represented. Wei was only one of five contestants chosen for the strings section.
Wei also competed in Regionals last year when she was named Alternate. After being so close to qualifying for the national competition, she wanted nothing more than to make it this year, the last year she is eligible to compete in the Young Artist Competition.
“She has to be between 19 and 25 to be eligible,” Dr. Beth Denise Vanderborgh said, “and she’s 25 now.”
If Wei is anything, she is determined. “I didn’t take any breaks this year,” she said. “I just practiced. I need to work hard because some people are more talented than me. When I practice I compete against myself, and I can see how I can improve myself.”
Practicing and competition have not been Wei’s only challenges. She also is an exchange student from Harbin, China, a large city in the northeast corner of the country. Learning English was difficult for her.
“At the beginning, my English was not so good. And I’m not good at reading words in a book, but I can read the music really well.”
Wei’s passion for the cello becomes a beautiful manifestation when she begins to play. She moves the bow gracefully over the strings with her right hand while her left slides deftly up and down the neck of the cello, never missing a note.
“The cello doesn’t have frets, which makes it a very difficult instrument to learn,” Vanderborgh said.
Wei has played the piano since she was five, and she added the cello two years later. A year later, she played the cello exclusively because her mother said she would not have time to play both.
“I chose the cello, because cello practice was shorter,” she said. “Now, I spend as much time practicing as I possibly can each day. It’s my life. It’s not only an instrument: it’s like a person that’s been with me for 18 years.”
The Bach piece was written for a 5-string cello, which makes it especially challenging for Wei playing her 4-string. “It really shows their mettle,” Vanderborgh said. “Not very many people can do it, but Guo can.”
“She’s very passionate about her music and she’s a very smart player- she thinks through her music and makes it work,” Vanderborgh explained. “Her music is like her personality. She has a lot of heart while she’s playing.”
Wei will be performing at 10 p.m. Thursday in the Fine Arts Building’s Concert Hall. Admission is free and it will last for approximately 40 minutes. She will be performing Dmitri Shostakovich’s Sonata, Bach’s Suite VI Prelude, and Gaspar Cassado’s “Requiebros.”
